Residual Charge and Filtration Efficiency of Polycarbonate Fibrous Membranes Prepared by Electrospinning

Polycarbonate (PC) ultrafine fiber membranes with benzyl triethylammonium chloride (BTEAC) were prepared by electrospinning of PC/chloroform solution with different BTEAC contents. In the presence of BTEAC additive, the PC solution showed a better electrospinnability and led to thinner fibers with uniformity than the neat PC solution. The charge retention of the electrospun PC fibrous membranes with BTEAC was investigated in terms of additive content, membrane thickness and storage condition. The residual charge on the PC fibrous membrane was increased to 1 wt % BTEAC content, but thereafter gradually decreased up to 10 wt % BTEAC. In addition, the residual charge on the membrane was increased with increasing the membrane thickness, but was rapidly decreased at a high humidity condition in comparison with a low humidity. The filtration efficiency was examined for the fibrous membranes with or without BTEAC. The PC membrane with BTEAC had higher filtration efficiency than one without BTEAC, not affecting the pressure drop. The filtration efficiency between the PC membranes with or without residual charge was also compared. When the residual charge existed on the membrane, the membrane showed higher filter efficiency because of the enhanced filtration effect by an electrostatic attraction. Therefore, the PC fibrous membranes with BTEAC have a great potential as an electrets filter for air filtration. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.